KEVIN KEEGAN has singled out Geremi for the way he has fought his way back into the Newcastle United picture.

The 29-year-old Cameroon international looked to have been edged on to the periphery after losing his place and the captains armband in the weeks immediately before he headed off for the African Nations Cup.

By the time he returned, the man who had bought him and appointed him skipper, Sam Allardyce, had gone, and Michael Owen had been asked to lead the team by his replacement.

But rather than allow himself to slip into obscurity, the former Real Madrid midfielder set about the task of persuading Keegan he was worth a place in the side, and has done so to good effect.

Geremi was not in Uniteds starting line-up when they were humiliated at home by Portsmouth and he remained on the subs bench but he will head for Fratton Park tomorrow, hoping to start his fifth successive game, with the previous four having yielded 10 points for his side.

Keegan said: Geremi has always got a smile on his face. He is fantastic around the club.

The feeling I got when I came in was he had had a bit of a tough time here and when he came back, he might be OK around the squad because he is a good man, but he just might not be able to hold down a place.

But from the day he came back from the African Nations Cup and trained with us, I thought, Wow!.

He smiles, the players respect him, he doesnt give the ball away foolishly.

He is a clever player and I have been unbelievably impressed with him.

He is another one of my leaders around the place. I have a few you need a few at a football club and he is certainly one of them.

If it is the three-pronged attack of Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins which has been given much of the credit for Newcastles improved form in recent weeks, neither they nor their manager have lost sight of what has been going on behind them.

Defensive resilience, a trait which has not often been associated with the Magpies over the years, has been conspicuous by its presence, with the club conceding only two goals in the last four games.

However, the efforts of a midfield trio comprising Geremi, Nicky Butt and the ever-improving Joey Barton have been equally important.

Keegan is well aware of the deficiencies in his squad as he starts to plot the way forward for the longer-term, but always believed the quality and experience within would see the club through a difficult patch.

He said: When you are talking about the players we have in our side, we have a lot of experience there.

Take Obafemi Martins he is young, but he has played in Italy, he has played for his country, he has scored goals for Italy, he has scored goals for his country, and he has scored great goals in the Premier League.

You then add to that the experience of Nicky Butt, Geremi, Abdoulaye Faye and Habib Beye, and you can see we have the experience and the ability amongst us.